I sure do hate that for him and his family. I don't blame the boy one bit on his decision because mine would be the same also.

A supervisor here at work fell from his deer stand a couple of years ago. His strap caught him but then it broke and he dropped 20 feet. He broke his leg in three different places and dislocated his hip. When he landed on the ground he was in a puddle of water and couldn't move. He was very fortunate that someone had come out to the farm that day because he couldn't move at all.

With gun season starting next weekend around here I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable season.

That happened south of Ft Wayne, I live north. Tragic. There have several falls this year already but this was the first fatal I heard about. There is a lot of talk on Hunting Indiana message board about safety harness and being tied off from when you first start to climb until you are back on the ground.

Steve_In wrote:That happened south of Ft Wayne, I live north. Tragic. There have several falls this year already but this was the first fatal I heard about. There is a lot of talk on Hunting Indiana message board about safety harness and being tied off from when you first start to climb until you are back on the ground.

Most of my deer hunting is either out of a man made ground blind or a spot I find on the ground. I totally understand the need for harnesses when in the tree but what do you do about safety when you are trying to climb the snow/frost covered ladder/pegs int he dark? I have heard about being tied off before you start to climb but I am not sure how it would work.

Can anyone provide some insight to me on this one?

Dewey

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." --Mahatma Gandhi

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat."--F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer

As near as I understand the tieing off is to use a system similar to what climbers use. When you set your stands you attach a rope to hook onto when you climb. Here are a couple of threads on the subject.

I think the use of harnesses and climbing gear is where the use of safety belts were 20-30 years ago. They keep making them easier to use and the use will go up. Also some are going crazy high to hunt now so falls are more likely to cause serious injury. As far as ice and snow goes I made a cover for my favorite stand that kept the platform dry and snow free when away from it, worked most of the time.

dewey, I hunt from a climber and use a safety harness,the one that I have uses whats called a linemans rope togo around tree,then attaches to a tether via a d link to a 4 point harness that I wear. As I go up the tree I slide the rope up the tree. If I were to fall the rope cinches on the tree keeping you fromm falling. the only problem is you may hang there til help arrives. There are new ones out that are actually like a vest that you where, called hunters safety system. The earlier safety systems would only go around your chest but guys that fell out oftheir stands with these would actually suffocate because the harness would squeeze their chests,now they are changed and have legs straps.I can post pics of mine if you would like.Hope this helps.

Steve_In wrote:That happened south of Ft Wayne, I live north. Tragic. There have several falls this year already but this was the first fatal I heard about. There is a lot of talk on Hunting Indiana message board about safety harness and being tied off from when you first start to climb until you are back on the ground.

Most of my deer hunting is either out of a man made ground blind or a spot I find on the ground. I totally understand the need for harnesses when in the tree but what do you do about safety when you are trying to climb the snow/frost covered ladder/pegs int he dark? I have heard about being tied off before you start to climb but I am not sure how it would work.

Can anyone provide some insight to me on this one?

Dewey

YOU ATTACH THE ROPE ABOVE YOUR HEAD AND LET THE END FALL TO THE GROUND SO THIS MEANS YOU HAVE TO GO UP THE FIRST TIME WITHOUT THE ROPE.THE ROPE SHOULD BE LONG ENOUGH TO GO ALL THE WAY TO THE GROUND. SLID THE PRUSSIC KNOT TO THE GROUND. NOW WHEN YOU GET READY TO GO UP TO YOUR STAND OR CLIMB IN A CLIMBER, JUST SLID THE PRUSSIC KNOT UP AS YOU GO UP. THE PRUSSIC KNOT WILL TIGHTEN DOWN ON THE SAFETY ROPE IF YOU FALL. THERE ARE OTHER CONSIDERATIONS BUT THIS IS A NICE SYSTEM IF YOU HAVE $35 TO $45 FOR EACH STAND. i HAVE SHOT ALL OF MY DEER FROM A GROUND BLIND THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF MY AGE AND VERY INFREQUENTLY USE AN ELEVATED STAND. LIKE MOST OF YOU I WOULD NOT WANT TO LIVE IF PARALYZED AND ON A VENTILATOR. BELOW IS ADESCRIPTION FOR SHORT ROPE SYSTEM.